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John Kerry, seeking to become the next US president, determined three criteria for evacuating American forces from Iraq if he is elected.

Those criteria are to measure the level of stability in Iraq, to measure the outlook for the stability to hold, and to measure the ability of local security bodies to defend their own country, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Until each of these three criteria is met, Kerry conveyed, "I will provide for the world's need not to have a failed state in Iraq."

"At the end of my first term I would consider it a failure of my diplomacy if we haven't reduced the number significantly," Kerry was quoted as saying by the UPI. But "I certainly can't tell you numbers. The key at this point is to have a stable, non-failed state that is moving toward democracy and has security sufficient for the government to stand on its own." (albawaba.com)